We read
about the opportunity for developing nations to leapfrog economically with a focus on
knowledge strategy. The World Bank - in its 1998/99 World Development Report - affirms
that "Peer countries differ from rich ones not only because they have less capital
but because they have less knowledge." It continues, "And it is the lack of
knowledge that causes markets to collapse, or never come into being In short,
knowledge gives people greater control over their destinies" True or not, it provides
a foundation for an innovative path forward. Sometimes, this is all that is needed.

We also witness the challenge of worldwide leadership
assumed by progressive managers in these developing nations (see Insights from Latin America). Alejandro Fernandez, Vice President of
Human Resources, PDVSA (Caracas, Venezuela) serves as host for Global HR 1998  1000+
executives convened by the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations. But
participation in the global forum is not enough to take the knowledge practices inside the
company.

Enter Olimpia Salas - salaso@pdvsa.com
- served as the architect of an in-house October knowledge congress commanding 450 senior
executives and two dozen leading experts in the field from Latin America and abroad.
Sessions ranged from keynotes to intensive workshops on topics, such as KM and the
Convergence of the Media (Jonathan Levy), Implementing KM in a Global
Organization (Kent Greenes), Crafting a Knowledge Innovation Strategy (Debra
M. Amidon) and Tips, Tricks and Traps in Community Building (Richard McDermott).

Carla ODell led the keynote addresses in describing
what the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) has learned about frameworks, KM
approaches, examples in the Oil & Gas Industry and lessons learned. Using the Atlas as
a metaphor, Debra M. Amidon described the new Knowledge Value Proposition and the
migration from Business
Planning to Knowledge Innovation Strategy. Elana Granell de Aldez, author of the 1998
book  Managing Culture for Success  was the winner of the
Annual Prize given by CONICIT for the best scientific study in Social and Humanistic
Studies. Her messages include the elements required by a knowledge management culture.
Orlando Albornoz, winner of the 1997 Interamerican Educational Prize "Andres
Bello" applied the knowledge management concepts to institutions of higher education,
including messages about hyperlearning and hypolearning in Higher Education and the
Caribbean.

Cesar Pena Vigas, rector of the Universidad Tecnologica del
Centro, outlined a new initiative and the success factors for entrepreneurs:

1.

Innovation is a rotational axis for overall
performance.

2.

Adequate response to the learning requires
response in an organized fashion.

3.

Compensation for self-development is a
strategy for growth.

4.

Value of immediately available new knowledge
 share fast to compete.

5.

Teamwork is an energizing instrument for
individual competencies.

6.

Intellectual assets are conceived as a public
mechanism  stock market  for talent promotion and capitalization.

In 1997 this computerized performance system called
Knownet, was based upon the model originally developed at PDVSA and was sold as a product
in 1998 to the Spanish company, Meta4.

Alex Garcia, the manager of Competence Development for
PDVSAs Production Unit is currently in charge of the KM implementation for an
organization with 20,000 employees and widespread geographic distribution. He described
the needs for early wins and the lessons derived from the application of KM. He spoke of
the need for support from top management, empowered motivation, proper allocation of
resources, promotion of communities of practice (of which there were now 33), each
associated with a value proposition. These communities are groupings of professionals with
a common objective  to preserve expand and leverage widespread knowledge. The focus
is on better not best practices. The goal of the Knowledge Guiding
Team is to ensure that there are no knowledge islands. This enables faster adoption of the
concepts and optimization of practices at the corporate level. He reported significant
achievements already with this knowledge alignment approach.

Closing the three-day conference was Oswaldo Contreras
Maza, PDVSA Vice President of Shared Resources, who suggested that change and
knowledge were just two sides of the same coin. "We learn to change and
change to learn." Commenting on what he described as a timely and impeccable
performance, he suggested that PDVSA be only at the start of the knowledge campaign.
"These knowledge communities  technicians and professionals alike have
developed complementary and core tactics and strategies with common commitment to triumph.
We must visualize what lies beyond the horizon and take advantage of the opportunities. We
educate for our own defense. We manage knowledge to stay and prevail."